Paul Claes Nielsen Named Preseason All-MVC

ST. LOUIS – Following a stellar freshman campaign, Belmont University men's soccer's Paul Claes Nielsen has been named to the 2026 Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference Team. The sophomore midfielder was a member of last year's MVC All-Freshman Team.
 
A native of Copenhagen, Denmark, Claes Nielsen started all but one match for the Bruins last season and delivered a team-leading five assists. He also scored his first career goal in Belmont's road victory at Southern Indiana and was tabbed MVC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 23 after assisting on both of the Bruins' goals in their dominant 2-0 triumph at rival Lipscomb. In over 1,100 minutes on the pitch as a freshman, Claes Nielsen placed eight of his 15 shots on target.
 
In addition to the Preseason All-MVC Team, the top four teams of the 2026 MVC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll were revealed Monday morning. While Belmont didn't make the top four of the preseason predicted order of finish, the Bruins were picked fifth in the league's preseason poll with 25 voting points.
 
Voted upon by the Valley's head coaches, Western Michigan tops the MVC Preseason Poll with five first-place votes after capturing the 2025 MVC Championship and reaching the second round of the NCAA Championship. Both Drake in second place and Evansville in third place received one first-place vote in the preseason poll, while the University of Illinois Chicago sits in fourth place.
 
Belmont was just one point shy of claiming its first MVC regular season title last season, finishing fourth in the final league standings with Evansville, Drake and now former conference member Northern Illinois tying for first place. The Bruins went 3-2-2 in MVC play in 2025 and finished 8-3-6 overall.
 
For the first time in program history, Belmont hosted an MVC Championship match last fall as the fourth-seeded Bruins welcomed fifth-seeded UIC to E.S. Rose Park for the opening round of the postseason tournament. Belmont has reached eight victories in three of the last five seasons.
 
Defender Dylan Steely (2021-25) was a Preseason All-MVC selection each of the last two years.
 
After a pair of exhibition match wins, the Bruins begin the regular season Thursday at home with in-state foe Memphis. Kickoff from the Music City is slated for 7:30 p.m.
 
2026 MVC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll (Top 5)
1. Western Michigan (5) – 44 pts.
2. Drake (1) – 40 pts.
3. Evansville (1) – 34 pts.
4. UIC – 29 pts.
5. Belmont – 25 pts.
 
2026 Preseason All-MVC Team
GK – Tomas Butkovic, Drake
D – Braxton Arpachinda, Western Michigan
D – Sam DeLong, Drake
D – Cole Schrage, Drake
D – Christian Shannon, Western Michigan
MF – Paul Claes Nielsen, Belmont
MF – Devin Shepherd, Evansville
MF – Darrell Turcios, UIC
F – Mitch Coughlon, Bradley
F – Preston Kipnusu, Drake
F – Sahel Yessen, Western Michigan
 
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